Saturday, April 30, 2011

Rabbit Foot Minstrels (From Buckles)


04-29-2011 04;35;29PM, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

Foot Parade and Band Concert in Hattiesburg, Mississippi 1917.

Photos from William H.B. Jones
Galveston, Texas

Posted by Buckles at 4/30/2011 05:26:00 AM

7 comments:

Ole Whitey said...

This street parade pic with the members of the outfit walking far apart to give the illusion of a longer parade reminded me of a scene from a great book, which I recommend to all.

"Music out of Dixie" is by Harold Sinclair. It is frankly a work of fiction but has a lot of factual background worked into it. This guy did really did his research (how refreshing) and he included a great chapter when our hero was on the road with a minstrel show.

This show moved on two cars: a baggage car for the scenery and a day coach for the all male and all African American cast.

He describes them as follows: "The cars were cast-offs from a moth-eaten, bone-shaking, bankrupt streak of rusty iron once known as the Tallula, Ridgeway & Pascagoula Railroad. The Southern Minstrel management had picked them up for next to nothing."

Isn't that well written?

30 April, 2011 11:24
Buckles said...

For me the opening scenes from "Show Boat" came to mind.

30 April, 2011 11:27
Richard Reynolds said...

I never saw a minstrel show. Wish I had.

Around 1952 or so I heard that one played Atlanta under canvas but I never checked it out. Perhaps it was this one. My informant said the tent was set up alongside the downtown freeway (now I -75/85) near the 10th or 14th streets overpasses. That is near Ga Tech’s campus.

I thought I’d go see but it must have played only a day or so because it was gone by the time I looked.

30 April, 2011 13:41
Jack Ryan said...

Mr. Reynolds,

As I remember, the Rabbit Foot show was quite delightful -- lots of dancing, singing (including wonderful blues artists)and comedy.

The comic material was very clean - they were going for a family audience. But, they did stage a late show called "The Midnight Ramble" in every town. I was much too young to attend but would imagine it was NOT rated PG.

Jack

30 April, 2011 13:51
Anonymous said...

"Silas Green from new orleans" was a traveling minstral show into the late 50's. "little Richard" started out in a traveling minstral show.

30 April, 2011 16:21
Ole Whitey said...

Ward Hall says Little Richard started out on the Dailey show when he (Ward) was working in the sideshow.

30 April, 2011 20:06
Alice + Pete said...

that would have been the Rabbit Foot Minstrel show. My father owned that show in the 1950s. Papa bought it from Wolcott and that one point Little Richard played on our show.

23 March, 2014 11:06

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